Swimmer, 63, dies during Alcatraz triathlon attempt

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, August 26, 2008

At age 63, Phillip Coulston had made it to within 100 yards of the shore after swimming nearly all the 1.5 mile triathlon leg from Alcatraz to San Francisco on Sunday, authorities said.

A dentist and college swimmer who only recently taken up his passion again, Coulston's goal was to make it across the bay as a participant in this weekend's Escape from the Rock triathlon. Things were going so well, he was on track to break the record for his age group.

But suddenly, his heart gave out. His son in law, who was swimming with him for moral support, led the efforts to revive him, but Coulston died Sunday, in front of family members who had cheered him on.

"He went out doing exactly what he wanted to do," said his daughter, Erin Williams.

Coulston - who swam in the Junior Olympics and in college - had again taken up swimming eight months ago. He had just won first place in a race in Livermore.

"He was trained, ready to go, he felt fabulous during the day," said Williams, a tri athlete herself who, because she is pregnant, watched that day as her father swam with her husband. "He was so happy to be there, he was so excited."

Coulston had no history of heart problems, she said. He kept resting. He would swim for a while, and then he would roll over and rest.

Williams' husband, Joel, saw that something was wrong just at the end, she said. "My dad had rolled over to rest, and had just stopped breathing."

David Horning, the event director of Escape from the Rock triathlon's organizer, Enviro-Sports, said his organization had crews on hand who tried repeatedly to revive Coulston.

"We're devastated," Horning said, adding that he offered his condolences to the family. "We did everything we could."